Yousaf Yunes shares his journey of agency leadership and the challenges of his first year as an entrepreneur after being laid off from his previous agency in February 2022. Here are the key takeaways:

1. Facing Unexpected Challenges:

   • Yousaf was second-in-command at a 15-person agency when the entire team, including the founders, was laid off.
   • He started his own business with his former VA, Irina, and her partner, Vaughn, forming YRV Dynamics.

2. Building from Scratch:

   • Yousaf's early days were tough with minimal infrastructure, no line of credit, and struggles to secure and retain clients.
   • He recalls losing a major client early on and working for clients paying as little as $10/hour.

3. Perseverance and Faith:

   • Despite the difficulties, Yousaf emphasizes perseverance and the surprising role faith played in his entrepreneurial journey.
   • A turning point came with a major $15,000 retainer client, which he credits as a critical moment that saved his business.

4. The Importance of Networking:

   • Yousaf advises starting networking a year before launching a business.
   • Networking, even with small clients, builds relationships that can lead to significant opportunities down the line.

5. Staffing and Specialization:

   • He highlights the value of having a specialized and well-trained team rather than relying solely on VAs for front-end work.
   • Staff should be experts in their fields to establish credibility and attract clients.

6. Incremental Growth:

   • Starting with low-paying gigs, Yousaf gradually built credibility and increased his rates, showcasing the value of proving oneself on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr.

7. Helping Small Businesses:

   • Yousaf advocates assisting small businesses, even for free, as a powerful networking tool. This approach builds goodwill and fosters long-term relationships.

8. Confidence in Value:

   • He stresses that no RFP or client is too small and encourages entrepreneurs to recognize their own value, even when dealing with larger agencies.

In summary, Yousaf’s experience underscores the importance of resilience, networking, specialization, and helping others as key components of building a successful agency from the ground up.

• Signals are more actionable than data.
• 30-50% of click traffic is spam.
• Quality scores are obsolete in PPC.
• Focus on Add to Cart as a human signal.
• Maximize consumer value instead of just conversions.
• Real-time bidding is crucial for effective targeting.
• High ATC numbers indicate healthy traffic.
• Conversion flow issues can be identified through drop-off rates.
• Dynamic keyword insertion enhances ad performance.
• Use multiple landing pages to reduce drop-off rates.

• "Quality scores are complete garbage."
• "Max consumer value changes the game."
• "ATC is indicative of humans."

Yousaf Yunes shares valuable lessons about agency leadership, the future of digital marketing, and the importance of evolving with industry trends. Speaking from Runyon Canyon, he reflects on a conversation with a friend aiming to expand their SEO expertise into Google Ads and PPC, highlighting the growing necessity for agencies to become "Swiss army knives" by diversifying their offerings.

Yousaf predicts significant changes by 2026, with advancements in tools like Canva and the increasing ease of ad creation. He emphasizes the importance of strong foundations, such as certifications like Meta Blueprint, mentorship, and building expertise before charging premium rates. Drawing from his experience, he discusses the pitfalls of overpromising as a beginner and the ethical obligation to deliver value at the appropriate level.

The podcast also touches on practical strategies for scaling services, such as offering free trial periods to trusted clients, fostering confidence through learning, and avoiding industry burnout caused by underqualified practitioners. Yousaf passionately advocates for organic growth through platforms like YouTube, underscoring the power of genuine value and authenticity in building long-term client trust.

With humor and real-world anecdotes, Yousaf explores the nuances of agency growth, the challenges of paid ads for agencies, and the importance of adapting to client needs in a rapidly changing landscape. He concludes with a call to action for better training and responsible practices within the PPC industry. This episode is packed with actionable advice for agency owners, marketers, and aspiring digital advertising experts.

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In this interview, Yousaf Yunes interviews Joshua Krafchick, Managing Partner at 369 Financial. He shares his journey and insights into the world of finance, entrepreneurship, and wealth management. Joshua's unique approach to financial planning is shaped by his early entrepreneurial spirit—starting from selling golf balls on the course as a kid to becoming a highly personalized, client-centered financial advisor.

Here are some key highlights from the conversation:

Early Roots and Entrepreneurial Spirit Joshua’s story begins with his natural inclination towards business and finance, even as a child. His early ventures taught him the basics of commerce and laid the foundation for his later work. From cleaning and reselling golf balls to tracking small investments in elementary school, Joshua demonstrated a passion for finance and a knack for identifying opportunities.

Academic Path and Career Shift Joshua studied Actuarial Science in college, a field focused on statistics and risk, which gave him a technical understanding of the financial world. However, unable to secure an actuarial position right after graduation, he turned to financial advising. Despite the change, his analytical background in risk assessment became an asset as he transitioned into wealth management.

The Corporate Experience and Breaking Free Joshua's early career involved working with large financial institutions, where he honed his skills but felt constrained by the rigid corporate structure. Realizing he had maxed out his potential within corporate confines, he invested in joining an independent firm in Florida to gain more control over his career. This experience, although challenging, taught him valuable lessons about client acquisition, communication, and the importance of adaptable business strategies.

Starting 369 Financial After a series of partnerships that didn’t align with his values, Joshua founded 369 Financial in 2020. He describes the initial struggle—earning under $10,000 in the first year—and how he persevered despite the challenges. His focus remained on building authentic client relationships and creating customized strategies tailored to each client's unique financial goals. By sticking to his vision and relying on word-of-mouth referrals, he slowly grew his business and amassed over $10 million in assets.

Approach to Wealth Management Joshua’s philosophy at 369 Financial centers on personalized financial planning. Unlike traditional advisors, who may push clients toward generic products, he tailors each portfolio based on client needs and market conditions. His actuarial background allows him to integrate advanced analytics and probabilistic modeling into his investment strategies, setting 369 Financial apart

00:00 - Introduction and Mission

01:36 - Early Career & Entrepreneurial Beginnings

08:20 - Leaving Corporate America & Starting 369 Financial

14:56 - Challenges of Entrepreneurship and Growth

31:45 - Educational Initiatives and Future Vision

YRV Dynamics Link.Tree

Yousaf Yunes reflects on his journey from agency roles to founding YRV and shares valuable lessons on navigating agency life and entrepreneurship. He emphasizes that while large agencies often offer stability, they can be limiting and vulnerable to economic downturns, as he experienced with company layoffs. This inspired him to start his own agency, recognizing the importance of having multiple revenue streams and projects to maintain stability and growth.

Starting YRV was challenging, particularly in the first year, without resources like credit lines, tools, or a robust team. However, Yousaf credits his early clients, who transitioned with him from his previous agency, as essential in bridging the initial gap. Over time, YRV grew through persistent efforts, including leveraging platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, and a strong focus on content creation and social media presence.

He highlights the power of platforms like YouTube, podcasts, and social networks, which have become crucial for his agency’s visibility, client acquisition, and SEO. Regular posting, including three YouTube shorts daily, helped drive brand recognition, creating a network that brings in clients and referrals.

Yousaf’s advice for others is to prepare for job market volatility by building a side client base and diversifying income streams. He advocates for helping others along the way, as sharing knowledge can create lasting professional connections. Reflecting on the value of supporting the community and pursuing personal projects, he concludes with gratitude and a commitment to continue sharing agency leadership insights.

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Yousaf reflects on a podcast episode about the shift away from traditional ad agencies as digital ad buying becomes more accessible for companies, especially on platforms like Google and Meta. Historically, ad agencies played a key role in navigating complex TV ad buys, but today’s PPC (pay-per-click) advertising allows even major brands to handle media in-house, reducing the need for agencies.

Yousaf highlights how digital platforms, from YouTube to podcasts, are increasingly influential, especially for younger audiences who bypass TV. This shift is also evident in political media, where digital channels offer diverse perspectives not always reflected in traditional broadcast media. Yousaf suggests that as audiences shift, digital platforms may need greater representation in political reporting, hinting at the broader evolution of the media landscape.

Yousaf Yunes addresses a common concern about pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, particularly the differences between manual cost per click (CPC) and max clicks strategies, and their impact on conversion rates. He shares insights based on a subscriber question regarding poor conversion results when using manual CPC and explores whether switching to max clicks would be beneficial.

Yousaf explains that both manual CPC and max clicks approaches often lead to inefficient ad spending. While manual CPC allows for more control over bid prices, it still results in overspending, especially if set too low, as higher-value "gold" consumers are unlikely to engage at these lower rates. He introduces a framework of five consumer levels on Google, ranging from the high-converting "gold" and "silver" segments to lower-converting "bronze" consumers, "clickers," and spam/bots.

Yousaf emphasizes that the most effective way to target quality traffic is to use a max conversions strategy rather than focusing on click-based metrics. This approach optimizes for consumer actions such as add-to-carts and purchases, ultimately resulting in better ROI, despite higher initial costs per conversion. He argues that while max conversions might start with higher expenses, these can be optimized over time to improve cost-effectiveness, unlike the unreliable manual CPC method.

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